The physical cragginess that make photographs of men interesting are the very aspects that I endevor to minimize in women since they distract from essential character of the person. This is a balancing act since I also want to capture the personality that life etches into the face that so richly expresses who they are. So I use a softer light than for men that caresses the face; sometimes directional, other times extremely diffuse. Along with character, I want to bring out the beauty that exists in every women.
I work carefully on the image using simple retouching where the very details that can describe character can also distract from an appreciation of the person.
I try to capture an aspect (more if I am lucky) of the person that constitutes at least one facet of their personality.
I want to capture who the person is, not just what they look like."
